"I don't hate America, just demand she keeps her promises." Released 8 years ago today, this is my favorite album from rapper Propaganda and one of my favorite rap albums ever. I first heard Propaganda in the LA crew Tunnel Rats back in the early 2000s, and "Slow Cook" and "Do Know Wrong" definitely incorporate some of the vibes from the underground rap that was Propaganda's start. Still, the poet and rapper known as Propaganda has done so much more than that since then, and the musical styles on this album reflects that. "Crooked Ways", "Cynical" and "Gentrify" are some of my favorites here. "It's Complicated" and "I Hate Cats" are more spoken word interludes than rap, but fit really well into the album, in my opinion. Propaganda clearly shares his worldview as a black man throughout and digging into his lyrics has definitely helped educate me on the life of black people in today's culture. I might not fully understand everything he's saying yet or the communities he comes from, but I love the sounds and his wordplay, plus the excellent music his team put together for this album. Thanks, Propaganda, for reaching out to so many communities and coming to Minneapolis and AudioFeed to perform live, and I hope we continue to get new music from you as the world spins on.

Release Year: 2017
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